The 2014 rankings saw more Four and Five Star properties than ever before overall. Forbes' professional inspectors traveled the globe to visit almost 1,000 hotels, restaurants and spas, testing each against nearly 800 rigorous standards.

Forbes' list recognized one restaurant in Texas as being Five Star worthy — The Inn at Dos Brisas in Washington. It deemed seven restaurants Four Star, but only one of those is in Houston — and surprisingly it's Quattro at the Four Seasons. The publication touted one other Houston restaurant as "Recommended" — Olivette at The Houstonian.